Almere City beat Jong PSV 3-1 in the Eerste Divisie's second round of the Regular Season on Friday evening, a result that shifts momentum for both sides in the early table. Burgering opened the scoring in the second minute before Kluit doubled the visitors' lead nine minutes later, but Poku pulled one back after half-time and Druijf sealed it with two late strikes.
By then the match had already shown its pattern. Jong PSV controlled 64 per cent of the ball and registered 109 attacks against Almere City's 54, yet the hosts' five shots on target proved more decisive than the visitors' six. And here's the thing about matches like this — the side that doesn't dominate possession often wins because they don't waste their moments.
Almere City made three changes at the break with Hoedemakers, van Bruggen and Huisman coming on together, a tactical shuffle that seemed to galvanise them. Martina and Bahaty replaced two players for Jong PSV at the hour mark, but the visitors couldn't find a response. The yellow cards for Joel Van Den Berg and Marley Dors at 65 and 66 minutes told you the tension was building.
The substitutions kept coming. Burgering was taken off at 70 minutes alongside Bassey and Koller, while Dors came on for another host at the same stage. Cornecion entered at 87 minutes, and Druijf's double in the 90th minute and stoppage time closed the matter. Three shots off target for Almere City against eight for Jong PSV shows where the chances went.
To be fair, the statistics paint a familiar picture. Almere City managed 218 successful passes from 289 attempts, while Jong PSV completed 429 of 511. The visitors hit 18 shots inside the penalty area compared to seven for the hosts, yet only converted one of their six on target. The goalkeeper saves — five for Almere versus three for Jong PSV — reflect who was under more pressure.
The league positions now read differently. Almere City sit fifth with ten points from five games, having picked up three wins, one draw and one defeat. Jong PSV remain fourth with eleven points from six fixtures, their record standing at three victories, two draws and one loss. The gap between them has narrowed by a single point.